Help! We Bought A Village (2022)
Help! We Bought A Village
2022Across Europe, there are hundreds of remote villages, hamlets, borgos and cortijos lying empty and unloved. Following the intrepid Brits who have spotted an opportunity to breathe new life into these beautiful historic houses.
Seasons & Episode
A family of seven from Suffolk begin to renovate a hamlet in rural France, and we meet holiday hosts Ben and Susana, who've turned a Spanish village into luxury B&Bs. Plus, a chance to catch up with serial renovators Paul and Yip, as they battle storms and burst riverbanks at their settlement in Normandy.
Justin and Mel return to their village in France after the winter only to find it's being strangled by vegetation. At their hamlet in Spain, Ben and Susana are finally able to open their restaurant to guests. Village owners Paul and Yip start to feel overwhelmed by the scale of their renovations.
In France, Justin and Mel find horses in their field and wasps in their attic and Roberto's record-breaking bridge linking two ghost villages is almost ready to open. At Ben and Susana's Spanish hamlet, a cement truck gets stuck on the boggy road. And Normandy village owners Paul and Yip consider selling up.
After a crisis of confidence, Paul and Yip visit Italy to see other village projects, including Roberto's record-breaking bridge. Meanwhile, Justin and Mel discover a First World War document hidden in the beams in their French village. Over in Spain, Ben and Susana's plans to convert a barn into more guest accommodation run into trouble.
Roberto's bridge finally opens to the public, bringing thousands of tourists to the two villages it connects. Paul and Yip have risky work to do to prevent their barn from collapsing. Across at Ben and Susana's village in Spain, there's a party for the organisers of a local fish festival.
Dan continues his mission to make the centrepiece of his chateau watertight and in western France, Patrick and Mihaela renovate a former worker's lodge into holiday accommodation. In Italy, Lucie and Jerry's already earthquake-damaged village is dealt another blow as it's hit by floods.
Patrick and Mihaela face new problems at their country estate and in Italy, Lucie and Jerry attempt to turn a profit from their olive oil.
In Italy, videogame professionals Mike and Jools lean into their hamlet's medieval history to create a new game. Lucie and Jerry are determined to revive their borgo's olive-farming heritage. And in western France, Patrick and Mihaela turn to hospitality to rescue their time-worn estate.
In Italy, Mike and Jools start work to upgrade the ancient infrastructure of their medieval settlement, while Lucie and Jerry begin a salvaging mission as their village's properties begin to fall down. And in France, Patrick and Mihaela prepare to put their newly renovated holiday rental to the test before re-opening the gates to their rural estate.
Ken and his partner Pauline find themselves the new owners of a French hamlet and Carrie and Ross from Northumberland are property-hunting in Bulgaria's land of lost villages.
Carrie and Ross face a reality check in Bulgaria as they fight to save a settlement from dereliction and Ken and Pauline suffer a mechanical meltdown in France as Brexit threatens the future of their hamlet. Lolly and Sean battle to resurrect a historic manoir in the winter.
Carrie and Ross try to turn back time in Bulgaria and Ken and Pauline struggle to save a historic cottage in France. Lolly and Sean welcome a new resident at their French manoir.
In Spain, Michael battles decades of decay in the mountains. Bulgaria becomes a lonely place for Carrie and Ross, who are trying to save a settlement that nature has consumed. Ken and Pauline try to safeguard the future of their entire French village, and Lolly and Sean herald a new era at a forgotten hamlet.
Things get messy in Bulgaria, as Carrie and Ross battle to save an old tavern that time has forgotten. In France, Lolly and Sean battle against fatigue to finish their barn restoration. Michael goes to war with Mother Nature at his dilapidated Spanish hamlet.
Kev begins singlehandedly restoring an old quarry village in northern France and mother-daughter team Carol and Beau start upgrading a small hamlet for the 21st-century traveller. Sarah and Steve hope to finally finish their village restoration.
Sarah and Steve mark an anniversary at their Portuguese quinta while Carol and Beau continue to face problems with their renovation. Kev learns about the history of his little slate village in northern France.
Carol and Beau's renovations are halted by an infestation at their Italian hamlet and the update to Kev's slate village is slowed down by antiquated building techniques. The new doors and windows are installed at Sarah and Steve's Portuguese quinta.
In Charente, Simon and Racheal complete their first project at their ancient hamlet - with breathtaking results. Kev gives his music studio its first test run at his old quarry village. Meanwhile, after nearly four years of work, Sarah and Steve's holiday accommodation at their Portuguese quinta is finally open for business.
Francessca and Carl set up a new business venture to help fund the renovation of their second ghost village in Italy and in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Nicky and Graham receive an unpleasant surprise as they peel back years of neglect. Hayley and Lee wade into the deep to find out what lies beneath their village pond.
In Normandy, Hayley and Lee try to master the craft of lime mortaring and an obstacle stands in the way of Francessca and Carl as they try to bring water to their Italian village. Nicky and Graham go all out to get a five-star rating for their renovated ghost village in Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
The steep and winding roads cause problems for Francessca and Carl as they try to transport a heavy stove to their forgotten Italian village. Storms hit Hayley and Lee's ancient hamlet in Normandy, while Cesidio's vineyard, which provides the main source of income at a borgo in Italy, is in danger of drying up.
In Normandy, Hayley and Lee deal with the fallout from some very wet and windy weather. In Italy, Francessca and Carl juggle running one village with the renovation of another, while Cesidio looks to the future of his borgo and puts plans in place for the next generation to take the reins.
Becci and Micheal from Doncaster are beginning to turn a run-down Portuguese quinta into a family home. Louise and Paul are turning a storm-damaged 300-year-old French hamlet into a holiday village, and Ivano and Tracey's renovation of a trulli village in Puglia in southern Italy has halted after they discovered a large crack in one of the ancient buildings.
In Portugal, a precarious ancient roof concerns Becci and Micheal. In Italy, emergency repair work delays Ivano and Tracey's renovation schedule.
Louise and Paul uncover their 300-year-old French hamlet's fascinating past. There's more damage to ancient structures in Ivano and Tracey's village.
In France, Liz and Dave battle storms to save a crumbling cottage. In Montenegro, Anya hopes to bring new life to a mountain village.
Ivano and Tracey race to get their Italian trulli village guest-ready. In Montenegro, Anya meets George, whose family used to live in her village.
Across Europe, there are hundreds of remote villages, hamlets, borgos and cortijos lying empty and unloved. Following the intrepid Brits who have spotted an opportunity to breathe new life into these beautiful historic houses.